Just over a month ago The British Humanist Association started running adverts on the sides of London’s famous red double-decker buses that said, ‘There’s proably no god, so stop worrying and enjoy your life’.

It is an interesting tactic and one that has prompted alot of conversation among Christians and non-Christians a like.

A couple points to make about their advert. First, the word ‘probably’. Doesn’t evoke a real high sense of certainty does it, but accounts for the natural amount of doubt that exists in our culture about many things. Second, the use of the word ‘worrying’ actually communicates that people are worried about the existence of God or a god and what place He or it has in their lives. This is good news for Christians, this is an opportuntiy.

Sadly though, some Christians here in London also sensed that opportunity and have run with it in a very uncreative, un-incarnational and very typically cheesy Christian manner.

This month a new series of bus adverts will appear on London buses. The Christian Party, led by George Hargreaves, raised enough money for their adverts to appear on 50 London bendy buses.

Their full advert reads: “There definitely is a God; so join the Christian Party and enjoy your life.”

This makes me so a little embarrassed to be a Christian. Why is it that Christians so often feel the only response to an ‘attack’ is to fight back in kind when Jesus so clearly called us to turn the other cheek and to walk a second mile when asked to go one mile. (Matthew 5:38-42).

And let’s not ignore the mixed message here. The ‘Christian Party’ is not a clear reference to a ‘party’, a fun way of life, a good time as culture would understand the word party. The Christian Party is a political party…George wants you to join his freaking political party and by doing so, you’ll be able to enjoy your life!!! So now Christianity is more about political party affiliation…just like in the United States.

I have a t-shirt from a musician I like, Justin McRoberts and on the front of the tshirt it says ‘They will know we are Christians by our Tshirts’…need a new tshirt that says, ‘They will know we are Christians by our Bus Adverts/Party Affiliation’…yeah, I think that teaching of Jesus is somewhere in the Apocrypha. I’ll get right on researching that one!!!

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Whose the Author?

Stranger In The World. Coffee Addict. Bike Nerd. Part Hobbit. Reader. Day Dreamer. Hockey Fan. Trance Fiend. Green Thumb.
I care about things theological, coffee, cycling, secular music as worship, sustainability and simplifying life.
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